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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29817651">The Fall of Ladybug</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squishy_Princess/pseuds/Squishy_Princess'>Squishy_Princess</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Angst, BAMF Adrien Agreste, BAMF Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Hurt No Comfort, Identity Reveal, Implied blood, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Non-Graphic Violence, Paris (City), Paris protects Ladybug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Self-Sacrifice, Strong Marinette Dupain-Cheng, minimal dialogue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:01:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29817651</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squishy_Princess/pseuds/Squishy_Princess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette stood before Hawkmoth in nothing but her civilian clothes. She was stuck between him and the edge of the Eiffel Tower. Her ribs were broken and there was something very wrong with her right ankle. She couldn’t fight Hawkmoth as Marinette. For once in her life she didn’t have a plan.</p><p> </p><p>//TW// Implied Blood, Injury, and Death. Grief. Loss. Self-Sacrifice. 16+</p><p>Reposts on other sites are okay with credit. Translations, podfics, and fan art are always welcome.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Fall of Ladybug</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette stood before Hawkmoth in nothing but her civilian clothes. She was stuck between him and the edge of the Eiffel Tower. Her ribs were broken and there was something very wrong with her right ankle. There was no way she’d be able to take on Hawkmoth by herself. </p>
<p>Tiki had just given out after fighting so hard. She’d managed to give the girl three extra minutes before finally losing the last of her strength. Tiki wouldn’t be able to help. </p>
<p>Chat was still kneeling in the corner of the tower. Fighting with all his might to not let the akuma take over. She had been protecting him the whole fight. Marinette was so damn proud of him, but she couldn’t bear to be distracted right now. He wouldn’t be able to help her. </p>
<p>Mayura had long since run away. Her broken miraculous forcing her to retreat. At this moment in time it was a stand off purely between Marinette and Hawkmoth. No one would be able to scale the Eiffel Tower quick enough to help her, and nobody would even be able to stand up to Hawkmoth anyway. Paris would not be saving her and Chat today. </p>
<p>Marinette could feel a news copter filming them even now. No matter how often she and Chat had begged the media to leave them alone during fights, they wouldn’t listen. Even though the whole world knew who she was and what she was fighting against, they could do nothing. </p>
<p>Her secret identity had just been blasted worldwide. Hawkmoth looked at her with such a smug victory smirk. He seemed to know her. She would never be able to escape from him. With trembling hands she reached up to remove her earrings. His eyes followed her hands with vigor and he held his hand out as if she would willingly hand over her miraculous. She would never. There was only one plan she could think of. With a quick glance at Chat she knew what she would have to do. Taking a deep breath she moved swiftly and raised her hand to her mouth. She swallowed the earrings as she stepped back. </p>
<p>She couldn’t hear Hawkmoth’s roar of anger. She couldn’t hear Chat’s sob of agony. She couldn’t hear the screams of Paris as she plummeted. All she could hear was the wind. All she could see was the tower framed by stars. It was stunning. She would never feel the pain.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Fall of Chat Noir</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When they saw the girl unmasked the city had gone quiet. They were held still with shock. There was almost no one who didn’t know the girl. She was the daughter of the greatest bakers in Paris. She worked with multiple charities. She was one of Jagged Stone’s lead designers. She had won several design competitions, even a Gabriel competition. She helped every single person she had ever met. She had helped so many people get to safety when akumas attacked. She was so often found nearby when civilians were deakumatized and always knew exactly what to say.  Staring at the girl’s face there was not a single parisian who was surprised by Ladybug’s identity. </p><p>When she fell Paris <i>screamed. </i>Did she have a plan? Did she know something they didn’t? Would someone catch her? Would she survive? Why would she choose this?!</p><p>When she stopped Parisians surged forward like a tsunami. Thousands ran from their houses and hiding spots. Within seconds her body had been covered and hidden from sight. Doctors were ushered through the throng with urgency. Every single person was hoping and praying beyond all hope that she was still there. That Ladybug would be able to rise once more. However Ladybug was not the person lying on the pavement. Marinette was the red stained girl in front them. </p><p>Grief is so very strong of a motivator. Paris grieved their lost heroine. They grieved the loss of their own innocence. However no one could ever understand the grief Chat felt. With a scream of agony he was finally able to call forth his cataclysm. Hawkmoth never stood a chance. Chat tore the bell of his suit off violently and let it disintegrate in his palms. The butterfly inside it was vaporized as well. Lunging forward he attacked Hawkmoth with a violence no one had ever witnessed before. </p><p>Everyone knew Ladybug represented Creation. Just as they knew Chat represented destruction. However no one truly understood how easily Chat could rip apart someone. When Gabriel Agreste was finally reached, he was so badly injured that it was only by sheer luck that survived. Chat Noir did not care. He didn’t wait to look at who their enemy was. The moment he had the Butterfly brooch in his hands he tore down the tower and got to his lady. </p><p>The crowd parted easily. No one dared to stop the being of darkness Chat had become. He cared little for the liquid around her. With a gentleness that some could barely believe he sat and lifted her head into his lap. He stroked her hair into some semblance of order with trembling hands. The crowd was frozen. No one could breathe as a Chat Noir turned into Adrien. No one dared. </p><p>“Everyday...after a mission with M'lady<br/>
I ask for a minute of her time...<br/>
But she leaves me alone...on the roof<br/>
I'm just a little kitty on a roof...<br/>
All alone without his lady...<br/>
Every day...she leaves me on the roof...<br/>
All alone without his lady...<br/>
I'm forever alone...<br/>
I'm forever a little kitty on a roof...<br/>
All alone without his lady…”</p><p>No one would ever forget Chat’s scream. No one was so lucky again. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Rise of Paris</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was always going to be a fallout. Even if Chat Noir hadn’t been the son of Hawkmoth. Even if Ladybug hadn’t been revealed and subsequently killed. </p><p>The Dupain-Chengs opened their doors to Adrien easily. His aunt tried briefly to gain custody of him, but he refused to leave. Tom and Sabine would never force him to leave either. He never stepped foot into the Agreste Mansion ever again. He slept on her chaise for four weeks before finally being convinced to move into a guest bedroom. The family mourned together. Sharing stories from both sides of the girl they loved. Adrien learned the ways of the bakery and fell in love with it. He would never love again, but he would adopt three kids. He became a Dupain-Cheng in the hearts of the family. </p><p>Adrien was also left as the last guardian. The Kwami were very forgiving of his ignorance. They slowly taught him what he needed to know and never pushed him to go out as Chat Noir nor Mister Bug. He had to don the Chat Suit to collect the peacock miraculous and give his statement to the police. The world pretended they didn’t know who the feline hero was. Almost all video of his detransformation was hidden and blurred. While everyone who watched it live knew the truth, the world chose to let the hero grieve and live. </p><p>Nathalie was apprehended easily. She and Gabriel would serve life sentences in a maximum security prison. No one would ever visit them except for those who wanted to know how it was done. They never shared how they had done it. Gabriel lived with a limp and shaking hands for the rest of his life. Nathalie was left with chronic asthma. Neither ever questioned why Adrien didn’t visit. </p><p>The class was never the same again. Most students chose to be pulled out of class and move to online school. The created a support group for themselves and Adrien.  Everyone did their best to ease each other’s burdens. They never drifted apart. Each became successful in their own interests, but never left Paris. The city meant too much now.</p><p>Paris created a new monument for Ladybug. Directly under the Eiffel Tower they built a fountain with a floating ladybug in the center. Her eyes closed, a smile on her face, and holding a simple rose. Floating flowers were constantly being added. Ladybugs were always found resting on the plants. The area was a place of both grief and peace. Paris would never forget her sacrifice. Her story was passed on for eons. The girl who gave up herself for the sake of the world. The girl who fell so the world would rise.</p>
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